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Dear Auntie Manda, I have recently started to seriously try to reconnect with my Choctaw culture. My Great-great Grandpa, was an enrolled member of Choctaw Nation. He was orphaned as a child and enrolled in 1903, signing the Dawes Roll and moving to Oklahoma. For some reason, his children we not enrolled, which meant neither was my Nana or my father. My mom is full white and my dad is mixed, which makes me look very ambiguous to people because of my lighter skin and freckles. I’m afraid of overstepping by reconnecting since I’ve been socialized as a white person. I’ve started learning Choctaw and Tribal history, but I’m afraid to openly claim my heritage as a part of my identity for fear of backlash, not just from people who don’t know me, but from people that do. A few times, I’ve had friends and even family ask me, “Why is this so important to you? Why now?” I can’t put it into words, but I’ve always felt so lost and have had no cultural connection to anything growing up. I don’t want to feel disconnected anymore. Also, another thing that complicates my existence is the fact that I’m transgender. Perhaps, this is another reason why I feel lost. Not only do I want to feel like a whole woman, I want to feel like a whole person. Anyway, do you have any advice?

I am a white woman of Ukrainian descent who has been involved in aboriginal ceremonies for the past 12 years. I have been so grateful to have more recently participated in a Ghost Dance and a Sun Dance and a Yuwipi ceremony. I am always careful to honour protocol and wear an appropriate long skirt (hard being 6 feet tall to find one long enough!). I have wanted to be as respectful as possible. I am curious if making a ribbon skirt or a dress to do Ghost Dance is allowed for a participant if they are not native. I have received very mixed messages. Some aboriginal people welcome it and find it extremely respectful and others have said it is appropriation. I feel the only dresses that are suitably long and modest are often from another culture- African, Mexican- unless I make something myself. Can you share your thoughts with me?

I am from what I know a primarily white woman with a 1/ 4 Portuguese mixed. I am definitely attracted to native men. I was with a Native American Women’s Riding club and who’s is the Sister club of red rum. I am drawn to the culture, traditions, oral history and want to learn more. I am single and would love to meet some Native men in my are that are actively involved with their culture. I know there are Native dating sites out there but not sure how that would be received. If I joined one would it be disrespectful as I have never taken a DNA test and know my full genetic make up. Thanks for your support

Hi Auntie! I’m a white Canadian citizen and I was wondering if it is disrespectful of me or if I am overstepping my boundaries by dating someone who is indigenous? I’ve dated someone for a couple of years who was indigenous and we got along very well, but his mother and friends were not welcoming to our relationship and neither was my mother. His mother preferred that he end up with an indigenous woman in his future and my mom the opposite with me being white. I ended up breaking off our relationship because I didn’t want to cause any hardship between him and his mother and friends, but it really broke my heart because he was also my best friend not just my partner since we were best friends since middle school

We were always told that my great grandmother was apache. Her son,(my grandfather) and my mother half passed. And many of my elders have passed and the ones that are alive only recall that my grandfather did sing and speak in a native language when they were small. I understand that we are not recognized as native unless proved. But as far as the Apache being hunted. I feel like there aren’t any records even more so for the apache in Mexico. We know my grandmother was born in 1894 Guanajuato and passed in 1964 chihuahua. I guess my question is, how is there a way to research more Info in Mexico? And is there any help we can get.

Hey! I’m someone who plays a lot of Dungeons & Dragons, and as a result, I tend to write a lot of fantasy worldbuilding. I’m writing a group of people who revere nature (called druids in-game) and have really powerful magic that allows them to befriend the wilderness, shapeshift into animals, etc. They live in nomadic hunter-gatherer groups, which I would describe as “tribes,” because it’s much faster than “small, tight-knit nomadic hunter-gatherer groups.” Is this usage of the word “tribe” offensive?

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